Station-indicator.



L. A. MINE A, A. J. ZSGHOGKE & S. RAUQHWARTERJ STATION INDICATOR.v

APPLICATION TILED MAR. 8, 1912.

4 SHEETSSHEET '1.

mill

MLi/izzesse's 17108711731 6 OLbiS a. 7 liraea. lberl J". Z-schockeStephen, I Pauchwar-Z'er X/W Z5 1 L. A. MINBA, A. J. ZSUHOOKE & S. J.RAUGHWARTER. STATION INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MALE, 1912.

1,056,756. Patented Mar. 18, 1913.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

Ll lz'i'nesses 1710671161 3 Louis 7721171861,

Stephen T, Rauahwwrfier alberi J. Z schooKe.

L. A. MINEA, A. J. ZSCHOGKE & S. J. RAUCHWARTER.

* STATION INDICATOR.

'APPLIOATION FILED MAR. s, 1912.

Patented Mar. 18, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

17112871107 5 Lou i s a. 7 1inea.

f albert I ScTLocKe Stephen .T, Popuchwarter L. A. MINEA, A. J. ZSUHOCKE& S. J. RAUCHWARTER.

STATION INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. a, 1912.

1,056,756. Patented Mar. 18, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

I l l V M LT Illll Luz'inesses Iwzvehiiars L (2,. m g 6112: I z gzlwtche j X11 6 07 g- Siephen I RauchLvarTem UNITED STATES PATENT orrionLOUIS A. MINEA AND ALBERT J. ZSCHOCKE, OF ST. PAUL, AND STEPHEN J.RAUCH- WARTER, OF BELLEPLAINE, MINNESOTA; SAID RAUCHWARTER ASSIGNOR T0SAID- MINEA AND ZSCHOCKE.

STATION-INDICATOR.

PatentedMar. 18, 1913.

Continuation of application Serial No. 621,372, filed April 15, 1911.This application filed March 8, 1912.

. Serial .No. 682,383.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LOUIS A. MINEA, ALBERT J. ZSOHOCKE, and STEPHEN J.RAUCHWARTER, citizens of the United States, whose residences are,respectively, as follows, 395 Bellows avenue, St. Paul, 572 HallavenuefSt. Paul, and Belleplaine, all in the State of Minnesota, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Station-Indicators,

.of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in station indicators. Its objectis to provide a device for cars adapted to automatically indicate' eachsucceeding station en route.

A further object of our invention is to provide a statio-n indicatorhaving its indicating mechanism removably attached to the car anddesigned to be 'detachably connected with the stationary mechanism ofany desired car, to obviate the changing of the indicating aprons fromone mechanism to the other.

A furtherobject is to provide a station in dicator for cars adapted toautomatically indicate the stations as the car advances and to reverseas the car backs or turns at the end of the line.

A further object is to provide a station indicator, simple and durablein construction,.having an electrically operated indicating aproncapable of beingreversed and moved at equal distances during eachoperation irrespective of the varying diameter of the spools on whichthe same .is wound.

In the drawings Figure 1 isa side elevation of the indicating mechanism;Fig. 2is a plan view of the same with the indicating apron removed; Fig.3 is a side elevation showing in section the operating switch forcontrolling the driving mechanism; Fig. 4 is a plan view of theoperating switch; Fig 5 is an end elevation of the same; Fig. 6 is afront elevation of the reversing switch showing-its driving mechanism;Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 8 is a side view of the dropadapted to operate the controlling switch; Fig. '9 is: an end elevationof .the same; Fig. 10 is a view showing the in- Referring to theaccompanying drawings, the indicating mechanismdesignated by the letterA is designed to be detachably mounted in a car and is electricallyconnected, with the operating switch B and the reverse switch C.

The indicating mechanism A is constructed as follows: The drive shaft 10is rotatably mounted in the casing 11 and supports the ratchet wheel 12,the gear wheel 13 and the sprocket wheel 14. The leverl5 is pivotallymounted on the shaft 10 and supports at one end the dog magnets 16 and17 and the dog 18. The dog 18 is pivotally mounted on the lever 15 andis designed to engage the ratchet wheel 12. The dog magnet 16 operatesthedog 18 to engage the ratchet wheel 12 and rotate it in one direction,and the magnet 17 operates said dog to engage said ratchet wheel andoperate it in the other direction The spring stop 19 engages the dog andyieldingly holds it in one of its positions in engagement with theratchet wheel 12. The link 20 is pivotally connected to the casing 11 atone end and to the lever 15 at the other. The arm 21 is pivoted on thecasing 11 and is connected by the spring 22 with said link 20. Theelectromagnet 23 is arranged below the arm 21 and is adapted to draw itsfree end down. The

spring catch 24 on the casing 11 is adapted to engage and hold said armin its lowest position. The lug 25 on the lever 15 is arranged to strikeand release-this catch to free the arm 21. The spring 26 is connected atone end to the casing 11, and at the other, to the link 20, the end ofsaid link connected to the lever 15 being drawn upward and nor mallyheld in engagement with the stop 27 by said spring. The shaft 28 isrotat-ably mounted in the casing 11 and supports the drive roller 29,the gear wheel 30, and the sprocket wheel 31. tably mounted in thecasing 11 and supports at one end the beveled friction wheel 33 and atthe other the fixed ratchet disk 34 and the idler sprockets 35 and 36.The spools 37 and 38 are rotatably mounted in the casing 11 and on oneend of the spool 37 is feathered a beveled friction wheel 39, and on oneend of the spool 38 a beveled wheel -10 is similarly mounted. The Wheels39and 40 are yieldingly held against the face of the wheel 33 by thesprings 41 and 42 respectively, as

The shaft 32 is .rotashown in Fig.2 of the drawings. The apron 43 isattached at' one end to the spool 37 and extends from the bottom thereofaround the guide rollers 44 and 45, the drive roller 29 and theanti-slipping roller 46 to the bottom of the spool 38 as s own inFig. 1. Said rollers 44, 45 and 46 are idlers freely rota table in thecasing 11. The last mentioned roller holds the apron 43 in frictional enbe in its normal position, and the dog magnet 17 to have operated andmoved the dog 18 to a position engaging the ratchet 12 to operate thesame in a'counter-clockwise direction as seen in Fig. 1, theelectro-magnet 23 is charged as hereinafter described and instantlydraws the free end of the arm 21 downward into position in engagementwith the catch 24. The movement of this arm is 't-hen yieldinglytransmittedto the link 20 through the spring 22, against the action ofthe sprin 26, thus raising the dog 18 which engagest 'e ratchet wheel 12and rotates the shaft '10. The arm 21 is'held' by the catch 24 after themagnet 23 is demagnetized and until the spring 22 pulls the lever 15 toposition, releasing said catch by the engagement of the lug 25therewith. Upon the releasing. of this lever the link 20 is raised b theaction of the spring 26; The rising o thelink 20 causes the downwardmovement of the dog 18 which, then passes over the ratchet 12. Therotation ofthe shaft 10'drives the ,roller 29 by means of the gears 13and 30.

The disk 34 is provided with ratchets-on each face; The idler sprockets35-and 36 are arranged on opposite sides of this disk and are providedwith spring arms 51 'adaptedto yieldingly bear against said ratchets.The sprocket 36 is connected by the. chain 52-to the sprocket 31 on theshaft 28 and the s rocket 35 is connected by the chain 53 to t esprocket F4 on the shaft 10. The sprockets 35 and 36 are driveninopposite directions upon the rotation of the shaft 10 in eitherdirection;- The spring arms 51 engage the'disk 34 to rotate the same andits shaft 32 onlywhen their respective sprockets are rotated in aclock-wise direction, as seen ,I in Fig. 1'. The apron 43 is moved bythe predetermined distance, to move* ro'ller29, a the name 0 the stationfirst seen through the glass 47, and present in its place a new name.The friction wheel 33 as shown in Fig. 1 moves in "a clock-wisedirection. and

tends to drive the spool 37 ,by means of the friction wheel 39, in theopposite direction.

If it were not for the positive action of the drive roller 29, the apronwould be wound on the spool 37 by the friction between the wheels 33 and39, but this positive action un winds it against the retarding effectofsaid friction wheels. The spool 38 is rotated in a counter clock-wisedirection by the wheel 40, and winds the apron thereon as it passes fromthe drive roller 29. Assuming the dog magnet 16 to have operated andmoved the dog 18 to' a position engaging the ratchet wheel 12, as shownin dotted lines in Fig. 1, said dog passes over the ratchet 12 on thedownward movement of the link 20 and arm '21, but engages said ratcheton the upwardmovement of the same and operates the shaft 10 in aclock-wise direction. ,of the drive wheel 29 is reversed, the apron 43.being then unwound from the spool 38 against the friction of the wheels33 and 40,

and wound on the spool 37 as it passes from The rotation theguiderollers 45 and 44. The unwinding of the apron 43 from the spools 37and 38 against the action of the frlction wheels v33, 39 and -40prevents slack in the apron between said spools and insures an accurate.movement and spacing of the same. 5

The operating switch B is adapted to form an electrical connectionbetween the electro-magnet 23 and a source of electric current, and isshown in use with a trolley commonly used in electric street railways.We do not limit ourselves to any particular source of electrical energyor class of vehicle, as it ls'evident thatour indicating mechanis'm Amay be operated through the operatmg .switch B in connectionwith thethird rail type of cars, or on ordinary steam cars supplied with aportable source of electric current-,as' well as: other forms ofconveyance Theoperating switch B and its associated mechanism isconstructed as follows: The adro ;54 attached to and offset from thetrol ey wire-55. The plate 56 is attached to the wire 55, and one of itsguy-wires to form.

a support from which the drop 54 is braced. The grooved pulley 57 isrotatably mounted at the upper end of the bell crank 58 to engage thedrop 54 as the trolley pole 59 passes .said drop. The bell crank 58 ispivalso at its lower end to the plunger 61. The cylindrical body portion62 of the switch B 1s plvotally connected at one end .to the pole 59,and is provided with insulated contact barrels 63 and 64 and theterminal plates The plunger 61 is slidably mounted fw1th1n the casingand is provided with the otally connected to the pole 59 at 60, and

ment with the barrels 63 and 64, and the terminal-plates 65, and also tohold the wheel 1 57 in position to engage the drop .54. The

guard 68 is mounted on the" pole 59 and rotects the Wheel 57 and thebell crank 58 om the trolley guy wires, in case the trolley pole 59becomes disengaged from the trolley wire 55. One of the drops 54 islocated on the trolley wire between successive stations .andengaging thewheel 57 as the car advances,

causes thev plunger 61 to move to a position in contact with the barrel64. At the end of the line is placed a drop 54 of greater width than thedrops used between the stations, as

shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8. This drop engages the wheel 57 andmoves'the plunger 61 to a position in electrical contact with theterminal plates 65. a

The reverse switch C is provided for operating the dog magnets 16 and 17to re verse the movement of the apron 43, and is arranged to yieldinglyengage the pawl 72 with the ratchets of the wheel 70.v The mag net 77 ispositioned below the arm 73 and draws said arm downward torotate thewheel 70, step by step, when an electrical connection .is made betweensaid magnet, and circuit, either by theswitch B' or the motormansreverse lever 69. The insulated contact lates 78 and'79 are mounted indiametrically opposed positions, the opposite plates constituting pairs,said pairs being alternately in electrical connection with the dogmagnets 16 and 17. The spring arm '80 is fixed to the wheel and at eachpartial revolution of said wheel a contact is made by said arm betweenone of the pairs of plates 78 or 79 to operate one of the dog magnets 16and 17 v Referring particularly to the diagrammatical representation ofthe wiring in Fig. 13, and assuming the wheel 57 to be in con.- tactwith the drop 54, the electric current passes 'from the generator 81throughsaid drop to the wheel 57; then through the bell crank 58 and theplunger 61 to the'contact barrel 64, which at this time is in'engagementwith said plunger. The barrels 63 and 64 are connected through the wire82 to the operating electro-magnet 23 and through it to the ground bythe wire 83. When the above described connection is made the magnet 23is charged and draws the arm 21 and connected link 20 in a downwarddirection.

tion of the dog 'After' said connection is broken'as the wheel 57 passesfrom engagement with the drop 54, the arm 21 and link 20 are drawnupward by the spring 26." This movement operates the lever 15 and'causesthe apron 43 to move in a direction-fixed by the posicontact plates 8are connected by the wires 84 to the magnet 16, and 'theiplates 79 areconnected by the'wires 85 to the magnet 17 said magnets 16 and 17 beingconnectedthrou'ghthe-wire 86, the trolley-pole 59,

and trolley 55 with the generator 81. The

18 as above described. The

arm is grounded through the wire 83 I and engaging the plates 78completesthe clrcuit through the magnet 16, and in' engagmg the plate's79 completes the circuit through the magnet 17. The reverse switchmagnet77 is connected with the terminal I "plates 65 by the'wire 87 and withthe brush plate 88 by the wire 89, and is also grounded through the wire83. The motormans reverse lever 69 is connected by the wire 90 w1th thetrolley 55, and is provided with a brush 91 adapted to engage the plate88,

when said lever is moved into position to' propel the car in eitherdirection. The engagement of the plunger 61 with the plates 65 and theengagement of the brush 91 with the plate 88 completes the circuit throuh the magnet 77 and in either case causes te arm 80 to move andengagethe next succeed ing pair of contact, plates to operate one. of themagnets 16 and 17 and reverse the position of the dog 18. The plug 92 isarranged in the circuit to'facilitatethe removal of the indicatingmechanism A- from one car and to permit an easy connection with another.This arrangement is desirable to obviate the changing of the aprons 43from one of thecasings 11 to another.

In operation, the wheel 57 engages the gage the plates 65 of the switchB to op-- erate the magnet 77. The action of-thisdrops 54 as the carpasses between stations magnet operates the reverse switch C and thuschanges the position of the .dog 18 to reverse the movement of the apron43;

When the car isbacked, the magnet 77 is energized through the connectionat the lever 69, and operates the switch C to reverse the movement ofthe apron. The wheel 57 is'engaged by thev drops 54 and a contactis-made between the plunger'61 and the barrel 63, The drive magnet 23 isenergizedthrough. this connection and causes the apron to move,thus'indicating each succeed- In turning ing station as thecar backs.the reverse lever 69 to advance the car, the

I Fig. 6 of the drawings.

reverse switch C is again operated to advance the apron 43. In case ofan inter-.

ruption in the usual route, the apron 43 may he moved by hand toindicate the proper station'on" the changed ronteby.os-,

cillating the hand operating rod 93. -The reverse. switch C beingadapted to govern the direction in which said apron travels,

is. first set in its proper vposition by the rod 94 which is connectedthereto as shown in Having described our invention, what we claim as newand desire to protect .by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a station indicator for cars, an apron containlng the names'ofstatlons, spools for yielding connection with said roller for ro-'tating the same, electrically actuated means for reversing the action ofsaid driving means and a catch adapted to hold said electricallyactuated driving means at one limit of its stroke and to insure completemovement of the drive roller and apron.

3. In an indicator, an apron provided with spools for receiving thesame, a drive roller for said apron, an arm in operative, yieldingconnection with said roller and spools for rotating the same,electrically ac-- tuated means for moving sald-arm, means adapted toengage and secure the arm at, one limit of its movement and means for.releasing said arm. I

4. In an indicator, a frame, a pair of spools revoluble in said frame,an apron attached at one end to one spool and at its other end to thesecond spool, the ends of said apron being wound on said'spools in thesame direction, a drive roller for moving the apron, driving means forrotating said roller, and a friction wheel in operative con- I neotionwith said driving means and spools tending to rot'ate the latteridentically as to time, direction and speed.

5. In an indicator, for electric cars, the combination with'the leverfor reversing the car of an apron having spools for receiving the-same,a drive roller for moving said apron, electrically actuated drivingmeansfor rotating said roller, electrically actuated.

reversing means in operative connect-ion with said lever for reversingthe car for changing the rotation of said roller, a source of electriccurrent, a switch and drops for operating,,saidfswitch to compl te thecircuit between said driving and reversing means and the source ofcurrent.

6. In an indicator, an apron, spoolsfor receiving the apron, a driveroller for moving said apron, driving means for rotating :said roller inboth directions, a friction :';wheel in operative connection with saidfdriving means and friction wheels on said spo'ols in yieldingengagement with said {adapted to retard the rotation of one spool as theapron is unwound therefrom by said drive roller andto rotate the otherfor winding' the apron thereon'as it passes from said roller.

for receiving the same, a drive roller for moving said apron, a ratchetwheel in opferative connection with said roller, a dog. adapted toengage said ratchet wheel, a support for the dog, and electricallyactuated means in yielding connection with said support for operatingthe same to rotate said ratchetwheel and a catch adapted to hold saidelectrically actuated means at one limit of its stroke and to insurecomplete move- 'ment of the drive roller and apron.

8. In an indicator, an apron, spools for receiving thetapron, a driveroller for moving said apron, driving means for rotating said '-rollerinboth directions, a friction wheel, connecting mechanism between saiddriving means and friction wheel for rotating the latter in onedirection only, and friction wheels on the spools in yielding engagementwith said first mentioned friction tard' the unwinding of the-apron fromone spool while it is wound on the other spool.

.9. In an indicator, an apron, spools for receiving the apron, a driveroller for moving said apron, a drive shaft in gear with said roller,means for driving said shaft, a driven shaft in operative connectionwith and adapted to rotate saidspools, a ratchet disk on said drivenshaft, a pair of idler sprockets on said shaft driven respectively bysaid roller and drive shaft, and arms on for rotating the same in onedirection.

10. In an indicator, an apron, spools for said apron, a drive roller formoving the apron, a ratchet wheel in operative connection with saidroller, a support, a dog on said support, means, for engaging said dogwith said ratchet to rotate the same in either direction, a spring to.hold said support in normal position, a magnet .for operating=sa1d'support to rotatesa id ratchet, a friction wheel in operative.connection with said edrive roller adapted toarctard the rotation ofoneof said spools as the" ap'roii iiis unwound therefrom and to rotatethe'other spoolto wind said apron as it passes from.

the" drive roller.

:first mentioned wheel, said wheel being 7. In an indicator, an apronhaving s'pools wheel for rotating said spools to thereby resaidsprockets in engagement with said disk for moving said apron, a ratchetwheel in operative connection with said roller, an

electrically actuated support, a dog on said support, dog magnets on thesupport for engaging said dog with said ratchet to rotate the same ineither direction, a source of electric current, anelectrically actuatedreversing switch for connecting said dog magnets and source of current,a switch, and drops for operating said switch to connect saidelectrically actuated support and said reverse switch with the source ofcurrent.

12. In an indicator, an apron having spools for receiving the same, adrive roller for moving the apron, electrically actuated driving meansfor rotating said roller, dog magnets for reversing the operation ofsaid driving means, a source of electriccurre t,

a reversing switch comprising a plurality f diametrically opposedcontact plates, the opposite plates being alternately connected withsaid dog magnets,a ratchet wheel, a

' spring arm on said wheel adapted to engage opposite contact plates, apawl in engagement with said ratchet wheel, a reverslng switch magnetadapted to operate said pawl, a switch, and drops for operating saidswitch to connect and said reversing switch magnet with the sourceofcurrent.

13. In an indicator, for electric cars,-the combination with the carreverse lever of an apron having spools for receiving the same, a driveroller for moving the apron, a ratchet wheel in operative connectionwith said roller, an electrically actuated support, a dog on saidsupport, dog magnets on the support for engaging said dog with saidratchet to rotate the same in either direction, a source of electriccurrent, an electrically actuated reversing switch in circuit with saidreverse lever for connecting said dog magnets and source of current, aswitch and drops for operating said switch to connect said electricallyactuated support and reversing switch with the source of current.

In testimony whereof, we have signed our names to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS A. MINEA. I ALBERT J. ZSCHOOKE. STEPHEN J. RAUCHWARTER. WitnessesMARY E. MoNEnLIs, JNO. B, WASOHENBERGER.

said driving means 30

